Man arrested in abduction of Pa. college student

HARRISBURG (AP) – A convicted sex offender who allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted a Harrisburg Area Community College student just four days after his release from prison has been captured.

Clarence Shaffer, 52, was arrested in Highspire on Tuesday after leading police on a foot chase.

Shaffer abducted an 18-year-old woman at gunpoint from a community college parking lot Monday morning and took her to a wooded area, where he sexually assaulted her, police said. She escaped after he lowered his gun.

Shaffer was released from a state prison on Thursday after serving 14 years for kidnapping and attempted sexual assault of a college student. Shaffer had served his maximum sentence, so the state board of Probation and Parole had no choice but to set him free.

The board noted one day before his release that Shaffer would pose “an undue risk to public safety,” The Patriot-News of Harrisburg reported.

Following his arraignment, Shaffer told WHTM-TV that he chose his victim at random because he wanted to go back to prison.